Chiller or Light

**Hip** · 19th Jul 2015, 12:01

I have in mind an upgrade for my tank but not sure which one to go with.

Between a chiller (I have none) or a new set of light?

Tank is currently running fine without the upgrade

Current lights are 2 x Z LED

Tank temp ~ 29-30

Thanks in advance.

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**Urban Aquaria** · 19th Jul 2015, 12:21

Whats the focus of your tank? Plants or shrimps?

If plants then can look at installing Co2 injection system (if you don't have it yet) and perhaps upgrade the lights if required and dose more fertilizers.

If shrimps then go for chiller, then can keep the more sensitive shrimp species and grades which need cooler water to thrive and breed.

**Hip** · 19th Jul 2015, 13:58

Mine is a fully planted, equipped to the teeth

. I would call it a med light - high tech tank. Pressurized CO2, EI ferts etc....

So my question is whether a chiller is needed for the stability of temperature.

Or convert to a high light tank. Ie get a Maxspect razor 160w

**milk_vanilla** · 19th Jul 2015, 14:12

If nothing broken, don't touch it

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**Urban Aquaria** · 19th Jul 2015, 16:12

I see, in this case, if you want to boost plant growth even faster, then can look at upgraded the lights and then also increase the Co2 injection and fertilizer dosing to match the higher light intensity. Have to see if you actually need it though, it'll be a waste if you were to buy a MaxSpect and then end up finding that its too much and you have to reduce the light intensity to the lowest settings... that'll be sort of like defeating the purpose of upgrading the light.

Chiller is a nice equipment to add, just have to factor in that its an additional inline equipment that will tend to slow down your overall filter flow rate (unless you use a separate powerhead to power it), there will be an increase in your electricity bill and warm air will vent into the room so you need to allow for good ventilation... otherwise a cooler tank water temperature is always nice if you have the budget and space to support it.

**Hip** · 21st Jul 2015, 10:29

Thanks UA. I'm not too concerned about the flow since I can use back my 2260 for all those inlines.

Now come a noob question about chiller.
Is true that the bigger the better? Ie 1/5 vs 1/10?

I see some selling of the exact same price (used item) but different capacity. Should I always go for the bigger?

What are the things to watch out for when buying a chiller?

**BFG** · 21st Jul 2015, 10:49

Originally Posted by Hip

Thanks UA. I'm not too concerned about the flow since I can use back my 2260 for all those inlines.

Now come a noob question about chiller.
Is true that the bigger the better? Ie 1/5 vs 1/10?

I see some selling of the exact same price (used item) but different capacity. Should I always go for the bigger?

What are the things to watch out for when buying a chiller?

What is your tank size?

Getting a chiller 1model larger, a step up, than you require is better as our country has some hot months, the larger chiller would not be bogged down by the extra heat load and would still operate and accomodate some extra heat load. Getting a chiller just nice to operate with your tank may not accomodate the extra heat load and may struggle to just keep the operating temperature that you set it to.

Another recommendation is to modify the chiller temperature probe to an external one. Reason being, the external temperature probe will take the actual reading of the tank water rather than the water container in the chiller itself. Using the stock chiller temperature probe, you will encounter the dreaded stop start stop problem when you paired it with the wrong pump. With the modification, this problem disappear. Longer off time and shorter operation times are the norm.

**Urban Aquaria** · 21st Jul 2015, 11:30

Yeah, getting a larger chiller is always better (especially if you have a larger tank setup)... it will chill more water volume faster, hence the "kick in" intervals will be shorter so the overall amount of electricity used will be less too. The main thing with larger chillers is the higher initial equipment cost and the amount of space it takes up, but if you have the budget and space, then go for larger chillers.

When buying a chiller, look at the reviews on the brand/models to check reliability and ease of repair. If its a 2nd hand unit, check to make sure its in good working condition before purchase.